What's It Mean If I'm A Chain?
by RevansRubber Duck Darth Nimble
Summary: Alice thinks about what it means to be a chain.Oz soon joins her. She comes to the conclusion that to save Oz's life, she needs to be erased from his life completely. How is she going to accomplish this? Will Oz LET her accomplish it? One-shot.


**Even if I did own Pandora Hearts, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to write the tragic ending that I'm sure is going to happen D: **

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Chains are usually viewed as a bother, something to kill, something to test on, something to create. Alice happened to be a chain, and often times she'd wonder if things would be different if she weren't grouped up with Oz. Would she be hunted by humans? Would she be used for some sort of experiment at Pandora? Some little toy to break and beat until one had to throw it out and replace it? She had been human at some point...but, did that matter to Pandora? If Oz and the seaweed head suddenly died, would she be taken care of, or would she be alone once again?

Alice didn't like these questions, but they were constantly there. Constantly trying to confuse her more than she already was. Sighing she leaned over the railing as much as her short body would let her. The sun was just starting to hide behind some far off mountain, turning the sky into an array of orange-yellow colours, with some purple here and there. Looking down she wondered if the fall would actually hurt her as much as it would a normal human. It wasn't that she was suicidal, far from it, but she was curious as to her limitations.

Did the human Alice think like this too? Did she wonder just how much she could handle? Where her breaking point was? Was she ever this lonely? It was scary not knowing these things. Especially when it _was_ her.

"Alice?" she jerked up at the sound of her name, and turned her head to look over her shoulder. To no surprise, it was her good for nothing manservant. She gave a small nod in response and went back to looking at the sunset. She didn't feel like scolding him for ruining her train of thought, or for startling her (not that she'd ever admit to it, of course).

"Um, are you okay?" he gave a small smile. Somehow the way her hair sticked out, reminded him of a kitty. He didn't understand it, but when he looked at her from behind, he'd always notice the two ends sticking out from the front and they'd automatically remind him of a kitty. It was sort of....cute. In a way. Sort of. Oh, what did it matter? No one could judge his manliness in his thoughts. Yes, it was cute.

She looked up at him, surprised to find him just a few inches away, with his back leaning against the rail, his head tilted looking at her. Why didn't he look over the rail like a normal human being? Alice mentally scowled. Humans were definitely weird. _But, I was weird too at some point, wasn't I? Or maybe I'm just weird now._

"Alice!?" the concerned look on his face made her realize she hadn't answered. Perhaps she was the odd one out, after all.

"I'm fine." she looked back over the rail, resting her head in her arms.

"Are you sure? You seem kind of...out of it."

"What kind of manservant talks back to their master!? You're lucky I feel merciful today, otherwise I would've shoved you off the edge!" Alice snapped back. It didn't seem right if she didn't, like it was something that made their friendship complete. Oz gave a grin as she put her head back in her arms.

"Right. Sorry. But really...are you sure you're fine?" he imitated her gesture, flopping his arms on the rail too, but instead of turning to face the sunset, he turned his head to face Alice.

Somehow, she always had her hair capable of strategically covering her eyes when she needed to while keeping the rest of her face open for examination, which really didn't help much at this point. Sighing, she looked at Oz, jerking back slightly seeing his face so close, before answering, "Yes."

He wasn't sure, but her usually pale face seemed to have a reddish tinge to it. He sighed, letting the topic drop, and mimicked her earlier motion of staring at the far off mountain. He knew she was lying. If she wasn't, she wouldn't be out here staring. She'd be out at the market with Gil making sure he got meat. Of course he would anyways. Even if they didn't show it, Oz knew they had a mutual liking for each other.

Ever since Chesire's place, she suddenly hadn't cared for her memories. Or if she did, then she didn't show it. Was she trying to get his priorities done first? That wasn't right. He'd made the contract with her to repay her, and if she was adding to the debt by helping him even more, then he had an even bigger debt to repay. She didn't view it like that though, did she? Alice was Alice, and everything was very simple with her. _But that gives her a kind of adorable edge to her, doesn't it?_

Oz laughed at himself mentally. No. He couldn't think that way about her. She had Jack, and it was only his resemblance to Jack that had her being so attracted to him. That and she was a chain. It's not that he didn't approve of chain-human relationships, but in reality, she was a rabbit and only when Gilbert seals off her power is she the human girl. She was cute, he wasn't going to lie, but if they had a child, would it be a half-chain? Or would it take on Alice's human traits? If it were just a question of them alone, he'd go for it, but there were future variables to consider. Besides, she wasn't the schoolgirl type that was always looking forward to relationships. She was Alice, and she looked forward to eating meat and killing chains.

He blinked a few times and shook his head slightly. He understood why she came out here to think. It was so easy to fall into thought and simply get lost in them. He hadn't noticed that the sun had nearly disappeared, leaving everything in it's path tinged with orange. It was odd how the simplest of things could bring such content.

"Oz?"

"Hmm?"

"Do...have you ever thought of me as...killing you?" she asked quietly, her hair still covering her facial expression. He hated that. One day, he swore he was going to tie all that hair back so he could see every expression possible. Her question, though, made him stop.

"N-no. I've always thought of you as my friend, of course!" he put on a radiant smile as he finished his answer, fully proud of it.

Manservants. They could be to stupid sometimes, "That's not what I meant. I mean...has it ever crossed your mind that you might be dying faster because of me?"

"I...It has. Once or twice, but I'll never believe it."

"But, it's true, isn't it? That," she poked his chest where the seal was, "was created because I forced you to sign a contract with me, and it's killing you."

Oz frowned slightly. Did she always think like this when she was alone?

"You didn't force me to do anything. I agreed to it because I wanted to."

She turned again, barely masking her emotions. He was lying. He had to be. And there was one way she could think of that would hurt each of them the least amount that would stop her from killing him.

"Oz...my memories..."

"What about them?"

"You can forget about looking for them."

"Wh-what?"

"I've decided that my staying by you is too life threatening for you."

"A-Alice?"

"So, tomorrow--"

"ALICE!" he cut her off. She looked up in shock, and this time he could clearly see the expression. His resolve faltered slightly at the look on her face, the kind that one would give when they first learn what the word 'grounded' meant. He shook it back, "You're _not_ killing yourself! I don't care if I have to hold you back myself you're not---"

"Oz..."

"--doing anything reckless like that--"

"Oz..."

"Or I'll jump down--"

"OZ!" he stopped for a second, and that second was all she needed to get her point across, "That wasn't my idea in the first place. I was just going to leave for awhile, see if that weakened the bond. If it did, I'd come and leave periodically. That way you don't get out of being my manservant, and I get my memories back."

"Alice.." Oz blinked a few times. She tilted her head to the side slightly, a curious and confused look on her face.

"What? I thought it was a good idea." then she looked a little angry, "You're going up against me again, aren't you!? Why you stupid manservant! Learn your---" she stopped when she got engulfed by Oz into a hug. He laughed and tightened his hold when she relaxed.

"Alice, you don't have to leave! It's okay. The seal's going to turn either way, and I'd rather you be with me when it completes instead of some place far away." he rustled her hair, and she froze under that, suddenly reminded of Jack. Oz saw it and pulled away slightly, "Alice?" he showed concern, thinking he did something wrong, but when she tackled herself back into him, and pressed her face into his chest, he knew it was nothing. It was just Alice being Alice. It didn't matter how much he looked like Jack, she knew the difference between the two. She didn't see him as a reincarnation of his ancestor. She saw him as Oz, her contractee, who she had to protect. She saw Jack as her saviour, who she looked up to.

Oz sighed, happy that she was comfortable being this close to him. He rested his chin on her head, his grin widening when she didn't react all. A few minutes later, he pulled back to check on her. He almost fell over. Leave it to Alice to fall asleep standing up. But, somehow, she look adorable sleeping.

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**O_O Indeed, that is the end. **

**I was bored and I had this idea playing in my head, so I decided to try it out xD **

**Please Review, seeing as I'm assuming you've already read it. Unless your an odd child and like to read this first O_o? Then R&R please :3? **

**Shalon is conveniently looking out a conveniently place window, which is conveniently facing the balcony Oz and Alice are on. Or she was, until Break came in and made a comment, and is now on a hunt-and-use-awesome-fan-powers-of-doom rampage. Simply due to those powers, I could not place either of them in this fic due to that reason. And Gil...well...let's just say he takes a long time picking the right meat.**

**O_o and apparently "Manservants" is not a word.**


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